THEN

St. Joseph’s Church was established in 1873 to “minister to German speakers.” When this Catholic parish’s school on Avenue A (now York Avenue) became “unserviceable,” a new facility on East 87th Street was commissioned, designed by Burkhard & McGovern. Architect Frank Burkhard lived in Yorkville on East 86th Street and was a graduate of St. Joseph’s. Completed in 1926, his understated design complements the adjacent 1884 church by William Schickel, incorporating limestone and similar medieval ornament. Four stories tall, “the entire building” was described in 1928 as “conducive to the health and comfort of teachers and pupils.”